"Ash?"
Cynthia popped a piece of berry into her mouth with a skewer and shook her head.
"But that name sounds so familiar."
She swallowed the berry and began to think back.
"Oh, I know!" Cynthia clapped her hand. "During the last exchange tournament, Steven mentioned to me that he had met a trainer with a lot of potential. I think his name was Ash."
So he hasn't reached the Sinnoh region yet? Victor was already looking forward to meeting him, if he ever got the chance.
"What's wrong? Do you know him?" Cynthia asked.
Victor hesitated for a moment, then said, "I... guess you could say I know him?"
"He'll probably be traveling to the Sinnoh region soon, then," Cynthia nodded. If both Steven and Victor knew him, then he must be a pretty good trainer.
Looks like I'll have to keep an eye out for him in the future.
Victor had no idea that, in Cynthia's mind, he was already being placed in the same category as Steven Stone.
After all, Cynthia already deeply respected Victor's skills as a Breeder. The way he cared for his Pokémon, the strength of the Pokémon he raised, and the high-quality Poffins he made all indicated that he was an incredibly skilled Breeder.
Among all the Breeders Cynthia had met, only a select few, including Wallace, gave her the impression of being a tier above Victor.
But she believed that sooner or later, Victor would also take that next step.
Cynthia thought to herself, then looked over at the counter and saw that Victor had already lowered his head, focused on carving the piece of wood in his hands.
A small smile played on her lips. She turned her head back, ate from the berry platter Victor had brought, drank the sparkling water he had served, and watched Victor's TV with Shana, feeling quite content.
"Phew..."
Victor blew the last of the wood shavings off the tag in his hands, carved a name onto it, and then strung them all together with a red cord.
[Victor's Special Little Wooden Tag: A handicraft made according to Great-Aunt's item list.]
[Giving it to a Pokémon seems to slightly increase friendship.]
[Every Little Bit Counts: This is a wooden tag made with heart by a trainer for their Pokémon, symbolizing their place as a member of the Breeding House's big family. Although it only slightly increases friendship, just as water flows to the east, love will be passed on. With the test of time, the love contained within will only grow stronger.]
[This Is My Tag: A Pokémon wearing this will never forget the home that belongs to it. No matter how far away it may be, it will always be able to find its way back.]
[You Must Grow Up Healthy and Strong: Victor has imbued these with his blessings for his Pokémon. A Pokémon wearing this will have a greatly reduced chance of getting sick.]
[Great-Aunt: Your craftsmanship is quite good!]
[Great-Aunt: Pokémon are very simple creatures. They will never betray the love a trainer gives them.]
Victor couldn't help but smile as he read the messages that popped up. He raised his hand and gave it a shake.
The wooden tags clinked together with a crisp sound, instantly attracting the attention of everyone, human and Pokémon alike.
They looked curiously at the tags in Victor's hand.
He walked over and, one by one, put the tags on Shana, Gengar, and the others.
"Once you wear this, you'll never forget our home," Victor said as he placed the tag around Gengar's neck—or what he assumed was its neck.
Gengar's crimson eyes were fixed on Victor.
"It looks great on you. Do you like it, Gengar?"
Gengar looked down and held the tag in its hands. The word "Gengar" was carved on it, along with a little Q-version of itself.
Victor's love was transmitted through the tag and into its hands.
"Gengar! (*꒦ິ⌓꒦ີ)"
For the first time, Gengar cried in front of Victor.
"What's wrong? Don't you like it? Then let's take it off. Don't cry, don't cry," Victor said, startled. He thought Gengar disliked it and quickly reached out to take it off.
Gengar wiped its tears, dodged his hand, and the next second, started licking him affectionately.
The lost child is no longer lost.
Victor let it lick him. When it finally stopped, he reached out and wiped the tears from the corners of its eyes.
"You're such a big boy, and you're still crying. Aren't you afraid Shana and Cynthia will laugh at you?"
"Gengar—o(´^｀)o" Gengar made a funny face, then floated over to Cynthia's side, holding the tag the whole time, its mouth stretched in a wide grin as it licked it.
Victor rolled his eyes, wiped the Gengar-slobber from his face, and then put the small tags on Shana and her Chingling.
"Do you like them, Shana, Tinkerbell?"
"Ching~"
"Thank you, uncle!" Shana said happily, holding her tag, which also had a little Q-version of herself on it.
Cynthia, seeing this, felt her own eyes redden slightly, but the smile on her lips never faded.
"Come on, Gengar, let's go give the others their tags. Do you want to come, Shana?"
"Gengar—"
Coming!
"Okay, uncle."
"And Cynthia?"
"Okay, uncle," Cynthia teased.
"..." Victor looked at her playful expression and was about to say something, but seeing how happy she seemed, he could only sigh.
Oh well. Let her be. As long as she's happy.
Passing by the counter, he also grabbed a large, beautifully carved wooden board and tucked it under his arm.
He went to the kitchen, put the tag on Mime Jr., and then let it happily hop onto his head.
Back in the yard, he looked for the other Pokémon and went to find them one by one.
After putting the tag on the Petilil, it, unsurprisingly, also began to cry. This time, its cries were even louder than when Victor had first met it, but he and Cynthia could hear the hope and happiness in its voice.
He gave the Petilil a gentle flick on the forehead. With Mime Jr. on his head, it was getting a bit heavy, so he called Dali and the others over and sat down under a tree.
When they arrived, Victor put their tags on them as well.
With tears in their eyes, they gave him a big thumbs-up.
Cynthia leaned against the tree, watching quietly. She then looked at her Garchomp beside her and reached out to stroke its lowered head.
She now knew why her Garchomp, Lucario, and the others liked it here so much. It was an environment filled with love, and even she couldn't resist it.
After comforting them, Victor stood up, walked over to Cynthia, and held out a clenched fist.
Cynthia looked down, puzzled. Two red strings were dangling from his palm.
He opened his hand. Two wooden tags lay there quietly.
One had "Cynthia" carved on it, the other had "Victor."
"I get one too?" she asked, surprised.
"If you'll have me," Victor said with a brilliant smile.
"Thank you. I love it."
Cynthia took her tag, held it up before her eyes, and let it swing gently. Her gaze followed its movement, and then looked at the face behind it.
She smiled fondly and tied the tag to her fair, jade-like wrist.
"If your Garchomp and the others wouldn't mind, I can make some for them, too. I just need to carve their names."
Hearing this, Cynthia turned to her Pokémon.
Garchomp's crimson eyes had been staring at Victor the whole time. It gave a reluctant nod, then turned away.
"Grawr."
"Then I suppose I'll reluctantly accept."
Lucario gave a proud nod.
Spiritomb and the others, however, just laughed happily.
Victor nodded.
More friendship points gained. A huge win!
Victor then had Gengar bring the ropes for the swing from the warehouse, while he himself took the wooden board to the swing set.
Watching Victor measure something out, Cynthia grew curious.
"What are you doing?"
"It's a secret."
With Gengar's help, he successfully built a large swing right next to the small one.
He tested it. It was very safe.
Victor got off the swing.
"Now you each have one," he said, smiling at Cynthia and Shana.
"I'm not a child."
"Oh? You don't need it?"
"Umm..."
"What a shame. I guess Gengar and I will just have to play on it, right, Gengar?"
"Gengar?! Σ(ﾟ∀ﾟﾉ)ﾉ"
M-me?!
"I didn't say I wasn't going to play on it."
"But didn't you say you weren't a child?"
"None of your business! Get down!"
"No way. You said you weren't playing."
"I did not! Now get down."
"I won't!"
"Get down!"
Cynthia forcefully pulled Victor off the swing and sat on it herself. At the same time, she had Shana sit on the small swing next to her. One held her Chingling, the other held the Petilil and Mime Jr.
Victor shook his head helplessly. He was about to go behind them to push when he saw that a certain short-legged fatty had already floated behind them.
"Gengar—"
I'll push you!
"Traitor!" Victor hissed, then went behind Shana.
Gengar stuck its tongue out at him, making a funny face, then began to push Cynthia's swing. Victor, in turn, pushed Shana's.
A breeze blew past, rustling the leaves overhead. Under the tree were two swings, one large and one small, with two girls, one large and one small. Behind them stood a human and a Pokémon, gently pushing them.
And all around them were many, many Pokémon.
Garchomp looked at Cynthia, watching as her swing slowly swung into its heart.
As if sensing its gaze, Cynthia turned to look at it and gave it a sweet, gentle smile.
"Grawr."
It seems he's not so bad after all.
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